House prices increase swiftest in North West - compared to rest of UK

A year-on-year comparison shows that house prices in the North West have risen faster than any other UK region, official figures show.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that by July of this year, annual growth in the North West was at 5.6%.

According to the UK House Price Index: “As of July 2018 the average house price in the UK is £231,422” and “Property prices have risen by 1.2% compared to the previous month, and risen by 3.1% compared to the previous year.”

Although London saw the greatest drop in prices, at 0.7%, it boasted the highest average house value of a whopping £484,926, which worked out at nearly four times greater than that of the North East.

Mike Hardie, head of inflation at the ONS said: “UK house prices continued to grow, but at their lowest annual rate for five years, driven again by a fall in London.”

So, which cities are proving to be particularly popular currently?

According to Hometrack – which gives a UK Cities House Price Index across 20 cities, in addition to regional and national figures – Liverpool and Manchester performed very well.

Key factors in the current market

We believe there to be many contributing factors to the changes in the market. In no particular order, the following are thought to be playing their part:

1. Businesses are more frequently moving from London to places such as the North West of England; technology companies are markedly making this move.

The North West is becoming increasingly known for its thriving IT sector with Manchester proving to be particularly in vogue.

Unsurprisingly, there are initiatives around that are specifically designed to capitalise on this; they seek to attract potential buyers to the area, offering affordable property with easy access to transport.

2. Following on from this, High Speed Two (HS2) is government plan for a new high-speed rail network which will operate from London to Birmingham and to Manchester and Leeds. The websites claims: “Over 7,000 roles already supported by the project” and predicts: “30,000 jobs supported by HS2 at peak construction”.

3. First time buyers seem happy to be more flexible on location. ‘Affordability’ is really the key word. With house prices so high in the South East, those serious about getting on the property ladder, yet not in a strong enough financial position to do so in, or around, the capital, are considering going further afield.

4. An increase in the rate of stamp duty on second homes has had an impact on London property purchases.

5. Of course, the current economic climate always has an impact and right now, with so much uncertainty around a hard or no deal Brexit, we find ourselves in uncharted territory. It’s inevitable that it is having an impact on the housing market; it is a subject that dominates the headlines and many a business lunch too!

That said, whilst London house prices are slowing down, it seems quite possible that prices in the North West will continue to rise for a while yet.

October 2018